We
live across the street from Restobar, formerly Cafe Moment, which
eleven years ago today was the site of a suicide bombing which killed
eleven and injured 54. Walking past it tonight, we saw a memorial
underway: The parents of the victims made a special frame for eleven
candles bearing their childrens' pictures. The waiters were all standing
alongside; being bareheaded, some were covering their heads with their
hands, others with improvised "kippot" made out of napkins.
Hanoch Teller once wrote a story in which a character explains that the
phrase "HaMakom Yinachem Etchem" can be read as follows: In the midst of
tragedy, sometimes, it's "HaMakom"- this place, the Land of Israel,
with all its special qualities- that comforts you.
